Building SOPs, Killing Construction Chaos, and Scaling From $3M to $10M ft. Jon Engquist from Subtrak

Building SOPs, Killing Construction Chaos, and Scaling From $3M to $10M ft. Jon Engquist from Subtrak

This week we sat down with Jon, founder of Subtrak, a software platform built to help contractors and home builders create, organize, and track their standard operating procedures. Jon works with construction companies to bring order to the chaos that comes with managing crews, subs, and multiple projects at once. We dig into why SOPs are the difference between a builder stuck at $3 million and one scaling past $10 million, why a simple checklist solves about 80% of process problems, and why project startup is the first procedure every builder should document. Jon also shares why contacting a lead within the first five minutes matters more than almost anything else, and how tools like Claude and ads on ChatGPT are opening new doors for builders. Subtrak offers a free library with over a thousand SOP templates for home builders, general contractors, and the trades. If you want to grow your company without becoming the bottleneck, this episode is your starting point. homebuildermarketers.com [homebuildermarketers.com]

Buying Back Your Time, Delegating Decisions, and Finding World Class Talent ft. James Russell from BuildersVA

James Russell has spent close to a decade helping builders and trades stop drowning in busywork. As the owner of Builder VA and someone coached directly by Dan Martell, he has helped around 350 builders buy back their time by letting go of the decisions that keep them up at night. He joins Seth and Nicholas to break down why most builders are stuck doing $15 an hour tasks themselves and how to finally hand that work off without losing control. Inside this episode you will hear why 80% done by someone else still beats 100% done by you, the first things every builder should offload, and how James builds roles around purpose instead of endless task lists. He gets into his 10/80/10 framework for managing remote talent, where the best specialists in the world are actually coming from right now, and the three ways a builder can hire a VA depending on how much they want to manage. Plus the mindset shift that turns a perfectionist owner into a real leader. Whether you are a custom home builder buried in admin, a remodeler trying to scale past your own capacity, or an owner who already knows you are the bottleneck, this one lays out the path. Only 5% of companies pass a million in revenue and just 2.1% reach three million, and the gap comes down to letting go. Hit play and start building a business that scales without you. homebuildermarketers.com [homebuildermarketers.com]

Inside the JobTread + Claude Workflow Every Builder Needs ft. Nick Peret from Better Boss

Nick Peret has spent over a decade helping contractors fix what most agencies ignore. He runs Better Boss, a JobTread implementation service that uses Claude AI and the new JobTread MCP to build out custom systems for home builders, remodelers, and contractors. He joins Seth and Nicholas to break down how AI is actually reshaping operations inside construction businesses doing $500K to $5M. Inside this episode you will hear why 70% of contractors fail at implementing their software, how Claude can pull historical project data and generate full proposals in minutes, what foundations every builder needs before layering AI on top, and why only 6% of companies are actually using AI in their workflows. Nick also walks through how private equity is targeting trades businesses with real operating systems and what that means for your exit. If you have ever felt stuck between scaling your business and getting buried in admin work, this episode will change how you think about your tech stack. Hit play and start building the operating system your business actually needs. homebuildermarketers.com [homebuildermarketers.com]

Canadian Housing, Modular Homes, and the Future of Custom Building ft. Michael Krisa From Builder Straight Talk

Michael Krisa, host of Builder Straight Talk, joins Seth Van Daele and Nicholas Cormier on the Home Builder Marketers Podcast to unpack what he's learned from interviewing some of the most successful custom home builders across North America. Michael shares how he selects guests, the traits every scaled builder shares, and the pitfalls that quietly sink operations before they ever reach real growth. The conversation moves through the mechanics of running a serious building business. Transitioning from custom to spec. Funding strategies that hold up in a tight lending environment. Networking and partnerships that compound over time. Then Seth, Nicholas, and Michael turn to the Canadian housing market, the rise of modular homes, and the legacy builders leave behind when the work outlasts the career. If you build custom homes or want to understand where residential construction is actually heading in 2026, this one belongs on your list. https://homebuildermarketers.com

What Separates a $500K Builder from a $15M One ft. Will Blunt from APB

Nicholas and Seth sit down with Will Blunt, Head of Marketing at the Association of Professional Builders, the largest coaching company in residential construction with over 10,000 building companies coached across four countries. Will shares the data behind the 3% marketing spend sweet spot, why niching down is the single biggest growth lever for builders, and the story of an Australian builder who invested in marketing during a boom while every competitor stopped and scaled to $15 million in revenue with 10% net profit. They also break down the 7 to 9 month sales cycle in construction, where to put your first $5,000 in marketing, and why video content paired with Facebook ads and a follow up system is the fastest way to build consistent lead flow. ⁠https://homebuildermarketers.com⁠ [https://homebuildermarketers.com/]